The European ETF industry is set to enjoy robust inflows from both institutional and retail investors in 2019, according to André Schnurrenberger, Managing Director, Europe at Cerulli Associates. In the latest edition of “The Cerulli Edge — European Monthly Product Trends”, Schnurrenberger notes that “European ETFs may be about to enter a new phase in their evolution, demonstrating that they can be the vehicle of choice even when investors turn defensive.”

NH-Amundi, a joint venture between Amundi and Korea-based NongHyup Financial Group, has launched the NH-Amundi Hanaro Agriculture Business ETF (60004 KS) on the Korea Exchange. The fund provides exposure to locally listed equities from firms operating within the agricultural sector.

Invesco has announced the scheduled closure of 19 ETFs. The funds, which collectively house approximately $300m in AUM, consist primarily of equity strategies offering niche exposures that have failed to garner significant interest from investors. The ETFs will have their last day of trading on 20 February 2019.

Hamilton Capital has launched the Hamilton Capital Australian Financials Yield ETF (HFA CN) on Toronto Stock Exchange. The actively managed fund invests in Australian financial services companies while writing covered calls on a portion of portfolio assets in a bid to enhance current income.

By Jerry Hicks, Sales & Business Development Manager at The Perth Mint.

For centuries gold has been viewed as a safe haven investment in times of uncertainty. In the past two years, a strong US dollar and prolonged market gains have prompted fluctuations and increased pressure on the price of gold. But now gold analysts are calling for a refreshed look at the precious metal, as the US economy shows signs of a cycle peak next year, geopolitical tensions rise, and a growing middle class of gold consumers in China and India emerges.

Lyxor has refreshed several EM-oriented ETFs with lower total expense ratios on six single-country ETFs and new underlying indices for three. The funds, which are listed across the main European exchanges, include products targeting the equity markets of Turkey, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Africa, Indonesia and Eastern Europe. MSCI wins the index mandates while investors achieve savings of in excess of $1m per annum at today’s prices.

Leading ETF issuers in Europe have joined forces with financial data giant Bloomberg to provide investors with a ‘consolidated tape’ of aggregate ETF trading data. The Bloomberg ETF aggregate volume feed, which incorporates OTC trades, aims to increase transparency around European ETF trading. Jim Goldie, EMEA Head of ETF Capital Markets at Invesco, said, “The industry has come together for the benefit of all stakeholders to showcase the liquidity, transparency and strengths of the ETF market, and we expect this service to further catalyse the growth of the sector.”

BlackRock has listed accumulating share classes on Deutsche Börse Xetra for two existing ETFs that provide exposure to European and Asian real estate companies. The new share classes of the iShares European Property Yield UCITS ETF and iShares Asia Property Yield UCITS ETF provide investors with the option to re-invest income payments received from the funds.

IndexIQ, a New York Life Investments company, has launched the IQ Short Duration Enhanced Core Bond US ETF (SDAG US) on NYSE Arca. The fund uses a momentum-tilted factor strategy in a bid to outperform the market-value-weighted universe of short-duration, US dollar-denominated taxable bonds. “By combining short-duration exposure with a momentum-driven approach, investors now have a powerful tool for gaining exposure to this key area of the fixed income market while also adding the potential for outperformance,” said Salvatore Bruno, CIO at IndexIQ.

Exchange-traded products globally collected $56.5 billion in net inflows during November, the greatest increase in net new assets since January, according to the latest BlackRock ETP Landscape report. Global ETP growth was propelled by robust demand for fixed income products which gathered $18.7bn – the highest month since June 2017 – led by US Treasury funds with $9.1bn.